I just returned home from driving my youngest padawan to school. When I make the 4-mile round trip, I enjoy looking at the scenery as I pass -- wistfully so, I must admit. When we moved here 20 years ago, the landscape was much more rural, much more open, and, while there is a certain amount of planning that has gone into each of the subdivisions that now lay claim to once fertile farmland, I can't help but feel a sense of loss. Oh, there still are farms in our corner of the galaxy, and our city's leaders have strived to make sure there are tracts of undisturbed land for us to enjoy, but the community is not what it was when we moved here, that which drew us here in the first place.

Nothing stays the same forever.

As I drove to and from school this early Friday morning, amidst the litany of other parents ferrying their children to school and the bus drivers intent on delivering their charges safely this snowy morning, I got to thinking about Star Wars. (Yes, I was paying attention to my driving, but I still let my mind wander. ) I couldn't help but think about, as I gazed at the new subdividisions that have sprung up practically overnight, how the planets and cities of Star Wars are characters in our favorite saga. They really don't get that much attention. Much more subtle -- for they provide the backdrop for the main characters -- they play supporting roles. Each adds its own flavor to the saga, though, just as Luke, Han, C3PO, etc. do.

Raised in one of our nation's largest cities -- and the daughter of an architect -- I would be at home on Coruscant. The towering skyscrapers exude a beauty that speak to my soul. But just as vocal are the luxurious natural landscapes of Endor, Kashyyyk and Naboo. Even the supposed desolate expanse of Tatooine cries out to me.

It is no fluke that George Lucas created very specific environments as the backdrops to our heroes' sagas (I know you know this. I'm just letting my mind wander.). The fact that Coruscant is devoid of pure nature (and is the seat of the galactic government) is indicative of government's desire to lay waste to that which it believes to have no value. Endor and Kashyyyk represent nature in all its glory. Naboo, in its way, depicts a balance between the two. Even Tatooine -- the homeworld of that fabulous farmboy -- plays its role. It is not as desolate as it first appears. Yes, Anakin bemoaned the fact that Tatooine was a vast wasteland of sand, and even Luke balked at the idea of being chained to a land considered to be the f-a-r-thest from "the bright center of the universe," but Tatooine represents the fact that sometimes -- even oftentimes -- one has to look past the obvious, deeper than the surface to see one's true worth (ie both Anakin and Luke were more -- much more -- than either appeared to be. ).

All this from a little car ride on a snowy winter's morn. Well, the falling crystals made the going a little slower than usual. That must account for my mind wandering more than usual on the short drive. If it's going to wander, it can't get much better than Star Wars.

Whatever landscape your eyes find before them, may you enjoy the vista, and glory in all its beauty.

MTFBWY,
JMW